“Before we go on to hear Florence’s story,” Alex said, “I have an unrelated question.” He noticed they were floating to the west, and that they were precariously close to where Pirate Island would appear when it next chose to surface. He felt strongly about getting out of there in case the pirates decided to come after them. But he didn’t necessarily want to lead the pirates toward Artimé if they did decide to come after them. Still, he knew everyone was tired, and he wanted to see how the Unwanteds were feeling.
When Alex had everyone’s attention, he asked, “Is everyone set on heading home? We’re all present and in relatively good shape—except for Henry, of course, who is near death over there. But I guess I can’t think of anything else to do but head straight back to Artimé.” He lifted his eyebrows innocently. “Can you?”
The thought of doing something else beyond the rescue hadn’t crossed anyone’s mind. They shrugged and looked about. “I guess we should just go home,” Sean said. “In case they need us.” But he sounded a little disappointed.
Lani looked up. “They know how to send a seek spell if they need us. I think we should keep going west.”
Samheed rolled his eyes.
Alex had had quite enough of their obscure argument. “What is going on with you two?”
They both began talking at once, so fast that neither one could be understood.
“Stop!” Alex shouted. “Stop it!”
They became silent.
Alex shook his head at them, his mouth open to speak, but he had no words for their ridiculous behavior. They hadn’t fought like this since their early days in Artimé.
“Ahem, ahem,” came a voice from the bow. “Excuse me, please.”
Alex turned to look, glad for the distraction. It was Fox who had spoken. “What is it, Fox?” Alex asked.
“There is another island. I saw it last night when the sun went down and the moon was rising. I wanted to howl, but as I am a cat, I would never do that.”
“You’rrre not a cat,” Simber said to Fox through clenched teeth.
Alex knew there was one more island in this direction. He looked up at Simber. “Can you see it?”
“Yes, it’s therrre.”
The fox licked his lips and resisted the urge to pant.
From alongside the ship, Spike said, “That is where the squid went.”
Alex rushed to the railing. “Really? I’ve been wondering about her crushed tentacle.”
Spike looked up. “Oh, hello.” She paused, as if realizing something. “The Alex. You are finished with the coughing.”
Alex grinned and saluted. “Hello again, Spike Furious. Yes. Thank you for saving me.”
Spike considered that for a long moment. “Yes, and thank you as well.” She dove down and circled back. “The other big one went that way too, I think.”
“What about the eel?”
The whale frowned. “The eel moves around. It doesn’t live at the island. But the squid . . .” The whale trailed off, swimming just below the surface. “Oh no.” And then she sped up and jumped into the air, landing with a splash, and with a swish of her tail she was speeding to the west.
Simber sampled the air and stared hard after the whale. “I’m going to follow herrr,” he said. “Something strrrange is happening.”
Alex looked at Simber, who pumped his wings and flew off, following Spike. Fox stood at the bow of the ship, eyes like slits against the wind, and began yipping excitedly. Alex wasn’t sure what was happening, but he was very sure he didn’t want to miss it or go home, especially with two of Artimé’s finest creatures heading in the exact opposite direction.
“Captain,” Alex said with a decisive air, “follow that whale.”
The Tale of the Statue
Captain Ahab couldn’t have been happier to take off after a whale. Sean helped the captain adjust the sails, and soon the pirate ship was sailing at a brisk clip, following Simber and Spike. After a time, Simber slowed and waited for the ship to catch up.
Alex went to the stern of the ship, where he and Simber had often talked privately. Soon the cat pulled back even more until he was flying just over Alex’s head. Alex wasn’t sure if things were still off between them. He felt like they might be, and it troubled him greatly.
“I can’t stand this anymore. I’m sorry, Simber,” Alex said, looking up. “I messed up. I should have known more about Florence—I got distracted, and I never thought to wonder about it. Can a giant warrior made of ebony swim? Does she breathe? I mean, I come from a very different world, where no one questions such things because they don’t exist. But I’ve been in Artimé long enough to know I have to think harder, and differently, and I need to act more . . . more responsibly now that I’m in charge of so much. And I will.” He thought again of Sky, and his heart twisted. “I will. Again, I’m sorry.”
Florence, who was sitting near enough to hear, narrowed her eyes but remained quiet.
The cheetah harrumphed a few times. “All rrright,” Simber said. He harrumphed again.
“Is something stuck in your throat?” Florence asked him. She wore a stern look. “An apology, maybe? What happened here, anyway?” She looked at Alex. “What’s going on?”
Alex shoved his hands in his robe pockets. “We— I didn’t know if you could swim. And I didn’t know if you needed to breathe in order to live. And I should have known that before we set out. If I’d known, I could have had Simber do something more to help you against that eel. We were so worried—”